GRANITE FALLS -- Montevideo has been the underdog all the way through Section 3AA-North, but they sure haven't played like it.
Against the odds, the Thunder Hawks swept Benson Thursday night in the YME gym 27-25, 25-20 and 25-18 to capture the sub-section championship.
"I'm overwhelmed," said Beka Schwendemann, a senior hitter who posted 11 kills. "Everyone's playing so well and improving. We just keep getting better."
Montevideo, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, upset No. 3 Yellow Medicine East in the quarterfinals and then upended No. 2 Morris in the semifinals.
"Everyone stepped up tonight," said Magnuson, who is in her fourth year as head coach. "We played hard the entire match. We stayed focused."
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The Thunder Hawks (17-9) will now face Marshall (22-3), the No. 2 rated team in Class AA. The Tigers upset No. 1 rated Jackson County Central in the Section 3AA-South final on Thursday.
Benson had beaten Montevideo twice in West Central South Conference matches this season.
"Montevideo played well," said Benson coach Erick Hedman. "They attacked the ball well and served well."
Karrissa Larson served three aces for the Thunder Hawks and Elissa Christensen dropped in two more.
Brooke Tastad led Montevideo with 16 kills in 25 attacks and had a robust .520 kill percentage. Schwendemann's 11 kills came in 19 attacks and she finished with a .526 kill percentage. Carly Beals distributed 18 assists and Nichole Strei had 12. Miranda Kostboth added seven kills and four ace blocks. Christensen led with 18 digs and Schwendemann followed with 16.
"Benson has a great team," said Beals. "But our mind-set coming in was to beat them in three."
Kayla Hampton had 12 kills for Benson (26-5) and Emily Auch delivered eight kills. Taylor Semler finished with 26 assists and 10 assists.
Montevideo 3, Benson 0
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Montevideo 27 25 25
Benson 25 20 18
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Montevideo
Serving: Nichole Strei 12-16-0, Hayley Kubista 10-10-0, Carly Beals 13-14-0, Beka Schwendemann 12-13-0, Karrissa Larson 11-14-3, Elissa Christensen 12-12-2 ... Setting: Strei 26-28-12, Beals 44-44-18, Miranda Kostboth 1-1-1, Larson 3-3-1 ... Hitting: Beals 6-6-1, Tastad 22-25-16, Jaci Clauson 4-5-1, Schwendemann 18-19-11, Kostboth 15-15-7, Larson 6-7-3, Christensen 2-3-1 ... Blocking (aces): Beals 2, Tastad 1, Clauson 3, Schwendemann 1, Kostboth 4, Larson 2 ... Digs: Strei 9, Kubista 4, Beals 8, Tastad 3, Clauson 1, Schwendeman 16, Kostboth 3, Larson 4, Christensen 18
Benson
Serving: Emily Auch 12-12-0, Monica LIndblad 9-9-1, Kayla Hampton 11-13-2, Mallory Jensen 13-14-2, Taylor Semler 8-10-0, Rachel Bausman 5-7-0 ... Setting: Lindblad 4-4-3, Semler 62-63-26 ... Hitting: Auch 12-15-8, Lindblad 5-5-2, Hampton 22-28-12, Jensen 8-15-5, Semler 7-9-3, Bausman 16-20-5 ... Blocking (aces): Auch 3, Lindblad 1, Hampton 4, Jensen 2, Semler 1, Bausman 1 ... Digs: Auch 7, Lindblad 6, Hampton 5, Jensen 5, Semler 10, Bausman 8
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